Greeny building...
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Day 7....
After watching San Andreas in the morning my daughter went off to a friends place so it was just me working on the helmet in the afternoon. Spend a big chunk of the afternoon and later on a big part of the night with her watching on and OMG, we actually put it together!
I took a bit more photos while working on the final stages of the Pepakura process.
First as discussed above, I decided to put the visor part in even though we'll end up cutting it out. Seems to have been the right decision as it started pulling the two halfs together and given desperately needed strength to the mid section of the helmet:
Then I decided to pre-build the breather parts:
My plan with these is to eventually fill them up on the inside, maybe with Bondo, maybe something else, just to give the strength and then cut the backs of the slots out so you can actually draw air through them.
And then finally building up the underside, I did both sides together working from back to front to minimize any stress and getting the helmet out of shape:
And the finished result:
I actually just about fit it. Once the inside is fiberglassed it will be to small for me. Its roomy for Lins, she tried it on, but I think that once the inside is fiberglassed and has a layer of padding it will fit snuggly, it looks a little on the large side wearing it but by the time we've got the whole suit finished she'll have grown a bit more. She was already in her PJs once we got this far so pictures to follow later.
I'm going for Aqua Resin to coat it, I'll be testing out on our too small COD first to get some experience and not ruin the helmet on our first try. The resin won't be in until mid this week so I don't expect to get any further with the helmet until later in the week or coming weekend. I also need to research a bit on Bondo, the local Bunnings has some brands and so do the local auto shop but just as with my choice for Aqua Resin, I'm looking for less toxic alternatives so my daughter at the very least can watch, at the best try her hand at adding some Bondo. She'll definitely be helping out with the sanding
In the mean while I might build the slightly larger COD that I already printed out though I'm also tempted on taking a bit of a rest and playing through the last few levels of Reach
After watching San Andreas in the morning my daughter went off to a friends place so it was just me working on the helmet in the afternoon. Spend a big chunk of the afternoon and later on a big part of the night with her watching on and OMG, we actually put it together!
I took a bit more photos while working on the final stages of the Pepakura process.
First as discussed above, I decided to put the visor part in even though we'll end up cutting it out. Seems to have been the right decision as it started pulling the two halfs together and given desperately needed strength to the mid section of the helmet:
Then I decided to pre-build the breather parts:
My plan with these is to eventually fill them up on the inside, maybe with Bondo, maybe something else, just to give the strength and then cut the backs of the slots out so you can actually draw air through them.
And then finally building up the underside, I did both sides together working from back to front to minimize any stress and getting the helmet out of shape:
And the finished result:
I actually just about fit it. Once the inside is fiberglassed it will be to small for me. Its roomy for Lins, she tried it on, but I think that once the inside is fiberglassed and has a layer of padding it will fit snuggly, it looks a little on the large side wearing it but by the time we've got the whole suit finished she'll have grown a bit more. She was already in her PJs once we got this far so pictures to follow later.
I'm going for Aqua Resin to coat it, I'll be testing out on our too small COD first to get some experience and not ruin the helmet on our first try. The resin won't be in until mid this week so I don't expect to get any further with the helmet until later in the week or coming weekend. I also need to research a bit on Bondo, the local Bunnings has some brands and so do the local auto shop but just as with my choice for Aqua Resin, I'm looking for less toxic alternatives so my daughter at the very least can watch, at the best try her hand at adding some Bondo. She'll definitely be helping out with the sanding
In the mean while I might build the slightly larger COD that I already printed out though I'm also tempted on taking a bit of a rest and playing through the last few levels of Reach
And for those who'd be interested in knowing.
Spend so far:
1 pack of 160gm paper (250 sheets): $15 (so about 60cents of that papers worth is invested in this project)
1 jar of hobby glue: $14 (nearly empty, mostly used on this project)
1 hobby knife: $7
1 multicolor pen: $5
1 metal ruler: $3
1 cutting mat : $??? (don't know, have had it for years)
I bought a bunch of other things I'm not listing (yet) as I've not used them for the build so far or turned out I didn't need them.
Not counting the full purchase of paper, I'm about $25 into the project. This will increase steeply from now on (just the aqua resin alone is $40 including shipping and thats just a trial kit so it may not be enough).
I've spend roughtly 24 hours on cutting and glueing, again, its just the start...
Spend so far:
1 pack of 160gm paper (250 sheets): $15 (so about 60cents of that papers worth is invested in this project)
1 jar of hobby glue: $14 (nearly empty, mostly used on this project)
1 hobby knife: $7
1 multicolor pen: $5
1 metal ruler: $3
1 cutting mat : $??? (don't know, have had it for years)
I bought a bunch of other things I'm not listing (yet) as I've not used them for the build so far or turned out I didn't need them.
Not counting the full purchase of paper, I'm about $25 into the project. This will increase steeply from now on (just the aqua resin alone is $40 including shipping and thats just a trial kit so it may not be enough).
I've spend roughtly 24 hours on cutting and glueing, again, its just the start...
Sword Breaker
Member
You beat me to it darn it! I just also finished mine! (well i dont have the attachement or the small breather pieces glued on on. im making a post about it now)
But darn it looks amazing! i am thinking of supporting the helmet with something like posicle sticks or something of that short since i dont have the visor in) I will probably start with the resin this weekend after a visit to the print shop for the shoulders and chest
Again, it looks awesome and i am really happy that it worked out for you! Good luck in the next steps mate
Cheers
But darn it looks amazing! i am thinking of supporting the helmet with something like posicle sticks or something of that short since i dont have the visor in) I will probably start with the resin this weekend after a visit to the print shop for the shoulders and chest
Again, it looks awesome and i am really happy that it worked out for you! Good luck in the next steps mate
Cheers
LoneLegionary
Jr Member
Looking great so far! Really clean pepping
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sword Breaker, I've heard from several people now that keeping the visor out is a bad idea, including some who said they got into serious problems during the resin stage. Popsicle sticks may work but I've just gonne for safe. Unless I'm dumb enough to fiberglass the back it should be easy to take out.
I am planning to build up the edge a bit towards the inside of the helmet once I've cut the faceplate out to get a better fit for the visor, we'll see
LoneLegionary, thanks, Pretty happy seeing this was my first real attempt (I'm not counting the completely wasted attempt using much to thick paper). Here's to not screwing it up during the resin stage
I am planning to build up the edge a bit towards the inside of the helmet once I've cut the faceplate out to get a better fit for the visor, we'll see
LoneLegionary, thanks, Pretty happy seeing this was my first real attempt (I'm not counting the completely wasted attempt using much to thick paper). Here's to not screwing it up during the resin stage
Whoohoo! My aqua resin trial pack came in!
It looks like the pack may have enough for the helmet. Especially with some of the sample sheets of fiberglass mats I could do a bit of reinforcement here and there on the inside.
I was planning on first trying this stuff out on the COD but am now really tempted to just go for it and do the helmet.
Still have a few days to decide as I'm not planning on tackling this in anything but the weekend...
It looks like the pack may have enough for the helmet. Especially with some of the sample sheets of fiberglass mats I could do a bit of reinforcement here and there on the inside.
I was planning on first trying this stuff out on the COD but am now really tempted to just go for it and do the helmet.
Still have a few days to decide as I'm not planning on tackling this in anything but the weekend...
Ok day 1 and 2 of my 2nd COD build
Simply put, I don't want to ruin all my work on our helmet while learning how to best use Aqua Resin so I've used the last two days to print out and put together the COD. My daughter build the first one for the most part but we made it slightly too small. This one hopefully is the right size but I won't know till tomorrow as she's already fast asleep
In total it took me roughly 6 hours of cutting, folding and gluing to get to the stage I'm at right now. I plan to spend a little bit of time re-enforcing it as its a very weak structure but after that it will become our Aqua Resin test project
The Pepakura files are the ones by Brian McClain. It seems a very basic design so I'm guessing once finished the idea is to build detail on top of the finished product. We'll see how far we'll take that.
Anyway, I took lots of pictures
This time I decided to cut everything out and put all pieces in numbered bags (numbered by page) as Sword Breaker suggested earlier in the thread. Then I picked out the pieces that belonged together, folded them all, glued them together and then go on the the next part. I build the back first but as I took better pictures of the process on the front side I'll start there.
After cutting things out, I drew out the fold lines to make it easier to fold. I use a multicolor pen, green for valleys, blue for folds.
One of the problems I encountered, and I'm sure there is a setting for this in Pepakura, is that fold lines are sometimes missing from big surfaces that aren't supposed to be flat. I added those in red. With that first piece I needed to add them after I did some of the folding to figure out where best to fold:
I assemble the individual pieces first and then glue them together:
I had some real fitment issues with those little thingies on top (picture is upside down sorry) so I guess I'll have to clean that up at some point.
Same process for the back:
And then some final joining pieces and putting it all together:
Here is the end result, the old one build together with my daughter on the left, the new one on the right (yes they are upside down):
I'm not sure if we'll have time tomorrow to put the finishing touches on it as the kids are having friends over, we'll see.
*edit* It fits!
Simply put, I don't want to ruin all my work on our helmet while learning how to best use Aqua Resin so I've used the last two days to print out and put together the COD. My daughter build the first one for the most part but we made it slightly too small. This one hopefully is the right size but I won't know till tomorrow as she's already fast asleep
In total it took me roughly 6 hours of cutting, folding and gluing to get to the stage I'm at right now. I plan to spend a little bit of time re-enforcing it as its a very weak structure but after that it will become our Aqua Resin test project
The Pepakura files are the ones by Brian McClain. It seems a very basic design so I'm guessing once finished the idea is to build detail on top of the finished product. We'll see how far we'll take that.
Anyway, I took lots of pictures
This time I decided to cut everything out and put all pieces in numbered bags (numbered by page) as Sword Breaker suggested earlier in the thread. Then I picked out the pieces that belonged together, folded them all, glued them together and then go on the the next part. I build the back first but as I took better pictures of the process on the front side I'll start there.
After cutting things out, I drew out the fold lines to make it easier to fold. I use a multicolor pen, green for valleys, blue for folds.
One of the problems I encountered, and I'm sure there is a setting for this in Pepakura, is that fold lines are sometimes missing from big surfaces that aren't supposed to be flat. I added those in red. With that first piece I needed to add them after I did some of the folding to figure out where best to fold:
I assemble the individual pieces first and then glue them together:
I had some real fitment issues with those little thingies on top (picture is upside down sorry) so I guess I'll have to clean that up at some point.
Same process for the back:
And then some final joining pieces and putting it all together:
Here is the end result, the old one build together with my daughter on the left, the new one on the right (yes they are upside down):
I'm not sure if we'll have time tomorrow to put the finishing touches on it as the kids are having friends over, we'll see.
*edit* It fits!
Today was a day of highs and lows.
Yesterday I spend a little time making a few reinforcements on the COD and the helmet. Not much worth saying about that.
Today was the fun time trying out Aqua-resin for the first time. Its hard to compare with polyester resin as the last time I used that it was on cars Lets say I've learned alot today.
First a few pictures of the fun we've had:
Unfortunately this is where we ended:
The worst is that you can see in the left side of the image, its warped a fair bit. The worst is actually not caused by the paper warping, Except for a part at the back that I will have to fill up to fix up the warping of the paper didn't go that bad. The thing that became a nightmare is that in some places the glue started to come loose.
Once it is all dry I'll see if the damage is repairable and whether I can get it back into a shape where I am happy that I can get the helmet looking good again with filler.
Anyway, a few things I've learned:
- the 2 parts powder, 1 part fluid is not a good starting point. 1.5 parts power and 1 part fluid and applying a very light coat worked much better
- secure tricky parts! this is where the glue came loose, especially small corners with very small bits that are glued. It works great for just the paper but getting the paper moist weakens the bond totally. Get out the hot glue gun, make sure its all well glued.
- the whole bottom of the helmet and certain parts of the COD I had hot glued pieces of wood into place. Those are the parts that held up really good. Parts where I thought I could get away by not doing that, warped badly. Especially on the COD which is just a too flimsy bit of kit.
All in all, for my first try I am not unsatisfied and I've learned a bunch, but I am a bit sad that I managed to be really pleased with the end result of gluing the helmet together to see it get into this shape.
*fingers crossed* I can salvage the work
*edit* I spend a bit of time pushing and prodding last night and with my trusty glue gun fixing up the worst damage. I couldn't get the front bits glued properly so pushed it back into shape and hoped for the best.
While Aqua resin dries in about 10 minutes I was already told it doesn't fully harden until after 24 to 48 hours, it may have been my saving grace. This morning everything had already hardened up a lot more and it seems leaving it the way I did last night has improved the situation a lot. The left side still looks like it has a sharper angle then the right but there is still enough flexibility to push it into a better shape so I'm going to see if I can brace it before I put on the next layer.
Yesterday I spend a little time making a few reinforcements on the COD and the helmet. Not much worth saying about that.
Today was the fun time trying out Aqua-resin for the first time. Its hard to compare with polyester resin as the last time I used that it was on cars
Lets say I've learned alot today. First a few pictures of the fun we've had:
Unfortunately this is where we ended:
The worst is that you can see in the left side of the image, its warped a fair bit. The worst is actually not caused by the paper warping, Except for a part at the back that I will have to fill up to fix up the warping of the paper didn't go that bad. The thing that became a nightmare is that in some places the glue started to come loose.
Once it is all dry I'll see if the damage is repairable and whether I can get it back into a shape where I am happy that I can get the helmet looking good again with filler.
Anyway, a few things I've learned:
- the 2 parts powder, 1 part fluid is not a good starting point. 1.5 parts power and 1 part fluid and applying a very light coat worked much better
- secure tricky parts! this is where the glue came loose, especially small corners with very small bits that are glued. It works great for just the paper but getting the paper moist weakens the bond totally. Get out the hot glue gun, make sure its all well glued.
- the whole bottom of the helmet and certain parts of the COD I had hot glued pieces of wood into place. Those are the parts that held up really good. Parts where I thought I could get away by not doing that, warped badly. Especially on the COD which is just a too flimsy bit of kit.
All in all, for my first try I am not unsatisfied and I've learned a bunch, but I am a bit sad that I managed to be really pleased with the end result of gluing the helmet together to see it get into this shape.
*fingers crossed* I can salvage the work
*edit* I spend a bit of time pushing and prodding last night and with my trusty glue gun fixing up the worst damage. I couldn't get the front bits glued properly so pushed it back into shape and hoped for the best.
While Aqua resin dries in about 10 minutes I was already told it doesn't fully harden until after 24 to 48 hours, it may have been my saving grace. This morning everything had already hardened up a lot more and it seems leaving it the way I did last night has improved the situation a lot. The left side still looks like it has a sharper angle then the right but there is still enough flexibility to push it into a better shape so I'm going to see if I can brace it before I put on the next layer.
HI All,
It's been a busy week, but not with the helmet. Both kids birthdays during the week and lots of overtime at work in between. I didn't get back on working on the helmet until tonight.
I managed to repair a few parts of the helmet but as you'll see from these pictures, the top is heavily warped. I think I can fix most of the top with bondo but at the front its lopsided and that is something I won't be able to fix up (the pictures don't show this very well). It will always look asif someone dropped a rock on it Still I've continued with fiberglassing the inside and will continue with the bondo stage (though I plan to use thickened aqua resin) but not until everything I've done tonight has properly cured, its really a learning project now even if it will probably just end up being an ornament
Ok a few more things I've learned in the couple of days I've been able to work on the helmet.
1) The 2 parts powder, 1 part liquid definitely does work best, I got thrown off when I started using it for the first time. I don't think it will prevent warping at all though, more on that later.
2) the fiberglass veil that is supplied with the trial package is wonderful stuff. Once I had a layer of aquaresin protecting the paper I didn't have to worry much anymore and it was really easy to work with.
3) love being able to mix in some water based colors to help see what you've done. Pink is next
4) aqua resin being water based means you can wash out the brush with water fairly well. I've so far used just one brush. Important though (as I found out the hard way) is to make sure the brush is properly dry before you use it.
So pics:
The third picture showing the back is a part I'm actually proud off considering that whole area had completely caved in yet I managed to save it
This weekend is SupaNova which I have tickets to attend on Sunday, so I doubt I'll work on the helmet again until sometime next week. I'm almost through my aqua resin but I have enough to try a thickening technique suggested by the importer to see how well it works as Bondo. I'm going to concentrate on seeing how much I can improve the top section of the helmet.
In the mean time I plan to build a couple of shins to retry the process and apply some of the things I've learned. I'm pretty sure I'll ruin at least one in the process as I experiment however they look pretty simple and quick to build so ideal throw away projects.
The main problem to solve is the warping. One thing that I think I made worse for myself is washing my brushes and using them when they were still wet but even with well a new or well dried brush I've found the paper gets soft.
One technique I've read about that people use is warming up glue sticks and painting the inside with a layer of glue. I might try that but I'm not entirely sure about that.
Another which caught my eye and sounds interesting is getting a can of clear coat and spraying the paper model first before applying the resin. The clear coat supposedly has the effect of waterproofing the paper.
I am very much looking forward to SupaNova as a number of 405th members here in Oz are supposedly going so if anyone from the board is going on Sunday give me a shout, would love to shake hands and get some pointers.
It's been a busy week, but not with the helmet. Both kids birthdays during the week and lots of overtime at work in between. I didn't get back on working on the helmet until tonight.
I managed to repair a few parts of the helmet but as you'll see from these pictures, the top is heavily warped. I think I can fix most of the top with bondo but at the front its lopsided and that is something I won't be able to fix up (the pictures don't show this very well). It will always look asif someone dropped a rock on it
Still I've continued with fiberglassing the inside and will continue with the bondo stage (though I plan to use thickened aqua resin) but not until everything I've done tonight has properly cured, its really a learning project now even if it will probably just end up being an ornament Ok a few more things I've learned in the couple of days I've been able to work on the helmet.
1) The 2 parts powder, 1 part liquid definitely does work best, I got thrown off when I started using it for the first time. I don't think it will prevent warping at all though, more on that later.
2) the fiberglass veil that is supplied with the trial package is wonderful stuff. Once I had a layer of aquaresin protecting the paper I didn't have to worry much anymore and it was really easy to work with.
3) love being able to mix in some water based colors to help see what you've done. Pink is next
4) aqua resin being water based means you can wash out the brush with water fairly well. I've so far used just one brush. Important though (as I found out the hard way) is to make sure the brush is properly dry before you use it.
So pics:
The third picture showing the back is a part I'm actually proud off considering that whole area had completely caved in yet I managed to save it
This weekend is SupaNova which I have tickets to attend on Sunday, so I doubt I'll work on the helmet again until sometime next week. I'm almost through my aqua resin but I have enough to try a thickening technique suggested by the importer to see how well it works as Bondo. I'm going to concentrate on seeing how much I can improve the top section of the helmet.
In the mean time I plan to build a couple of shins to retry the process and apply some of the things I've learned. I'm pretty sure I'll ruin at least one in the process as I experiment however they look pretty simple and quick to build so ideal throw away projects.
The main problem to solve is the warping. One thing that I think I made worse for myself is washing my brushes and using them when they were still wet but even with well a new or well dried brush I've found the paper gets soft.
One technique I've read about that people use is warming up glue sticks and painting the inside with a layer of glue. I might try that but I'm not entirely sure about that.
Another which caught my eye and sounds interesting is getting a can of clear coat and spraying the paper model first before applying the resin. The clear coat supposedly has the effect of waterproofing the paper.
I am very much looking forward to SupaNova as a number of 405th members here in Oz are supposedly going so if anyone from the board is going on Sunday give me a shout, would love to shake hands and get some pointers.
HI All,
It's been a busy week, but not with the helmet. Both kids birthdays during the week and lots of overtime at work in between. I didn't get back on working on the helmet until tonight.
I managed to repair a few parts of the helmet but as you'll see from these pictures, the top is heavily warped. I think I can fix most of the top with bondo but at the front its lopsided and that is something I won't be able to fix up (the pictures don't show this very well). It will always look asif someone dropped a rock on it
Ok a few more things I've learned in the couple of days I've been able to work on the helmet.
1) The 2 parts powder, 1 part liquid definitely does work best, I got thrown off when I started using it for the first time. I don't think it will prevent warping at all though, more on that later.
2) the fiberglass veil that is supplied with the trial package is wonderful stuff. Once I had a layer of aquaresin protecting the paper I didn't have to worry much anymore and it was really easy to work with.
3) love being able to mix in some water based colors to help see what you've done. Pink is next
4) aqua resin being water based means you can wash out the brush with water fairly well. I've so far used just one brush. Important though (as I found out the hard way) is to make sure the brush is properly dry before you use it.
So pics:
View attachment 13572 View attachment 13573 View attachment 13574
View attachment 13575 View attachment 13576
The third picture showing the back is a part I'm actually proud off considering that whole area had completely caved in yet I managed to save it
This weekend is SupaNova which I have tickets to attend on Sunday, so I doubt I'll work on the helmet again until sometime next week. I'm almost through my aqua resin but I have enough to try a thickening technique suggested by the importer to see how well it works as Bondo. I'm going to concentrate on seeing how much I can improve the top section of the helmet.
In the mean time I plan to build a couple of shins to retry the process and apply some of the things I've learned. I'm pretty sure I'll ruin at least one in the process as I experiment however they look pretty simple and quick to build so ideal throw away projects.
The main problem to solve is the warping. One thing that I think I made worse for myself is washing my brushes and using them when they were still wet but even with well a new or well dried brush I've found the paper gets soft.
One technique I've read about that people use is warming up glue sticks and painting the inside with a layer of glue. I might try that but I'm not entirely sure about that.
Another which caught my eye and sounds interesting is getting a can of clear coat and spraying the paper model first before applying the resin. The clear coat supposedly has the effect of waterproofing the paper.
I am very much looking forward to SupaNova as a number of 405th members here in Oz are supposedly going so if anyone from the board is going on Sunday give me a shout, would love to shake hands and get some pointers.
Looks like your gonna need to remake that helmet, I really don't think bondo will fix it well enough, sure it can fix the shape, but it's gonna be quite heavy and not perfectly ( or mostly perfect ) symmetrical, this is kinda where I messed up on my first attempt. My top warped just a bit because I didn't give it enough support and I tried fixing it with bondo, which is really do-able, but If your like me you want it perfect and I kept adding more and more coats, to get it right, ended up spending a week on the top. I think you might have to bite the bullet and just use polyester or epoxy resin next time (if you decide to re-pep), even though it means less for your daughter to do, but it would really save you a good deal of time fixing warps.
Hey HKurtyka,
I'm only finishing the helmet or taking it as far as it will go for the learning experience. As I need to be less worried about not getting it right it will allow me to experiment more. I'm planning to build up the rest of the suit and revisit a new helmet at the end and by then hopefully have learned enough to do it right
I'm sticking with Aqua Resin a little longer. Just because things went wrong the first time round doesn't mean the product is necessarily bad. I've been doing more reading and discussing with the importer here in OZ to get some ideas on how to prevent the same thing from happening again. There are a few techniques I want to try but starting with smaller projects (like the shins I'm building right now) and see which technique works best. One is the clear coat approach I mentioned before, the other is trailing a product called AquaCote which is a water based epoxy resin that would be good for a first layer on top of which Aqua Resin in a thickened state can serve as a sort of Bondo/Rondo/Resin hybrid and using Aqua Resin as per normal for fiberglassing the inside (this part of my build so far went extremely well and worked much better then I remember using polyester resin and fiberglass working on mold making for car parts).
If I can find a way to use aqua resin without warping the product I don't mind that it is slightly more expensive as the comfort of working on my project in a nicely heated room in my 2nd floor apartment is better then working in the downstairs common area outside where we have no electricity, poor lighting and lots of dust
(my daughter is the most important reason but not the only reason I'm looking for a less toxic alternative).I do have access to a small balcony but its less then ideal especially now that the average temparature in the evening (when I can do most) drops to around 10 degrees C.
Anyway, to be continued. It'll be awhile before I post progress updates on this because I want to make sure I have something to show
Hey HKurtyka,
I'm only finishing the helmet or taking it as far as it will go for the learning experience. As I need to be less worried about not getting it right it will allow me to experiment more. I'm planning to build up the rest of the suit and revisit a new helmet at the end and by then hopefully have learned enough to do it right
I'm sticking with Aqua Resin a little longer. Just because things went wrong the first time round doesn't mean the product is necessarily bad. I've been doing more reading and discussing with the importer here in OZ to get some ideas on how to prevent the same thing from happening again. There are a few techniques I want to try but starting with smaller projects (like the shins I'm building right now) and see which technique works best. One is the clear coat approach I mentioned before, the other is trailing a product called AquaCote which is a water based epoxy resin that would be good for a first layer on top of which Aqua Resin in a thickened state can serve as a sort of Bondo/Rondo/Resin hybrid and using Aqua Resin as per normal for fiberglassing the inside (this part of my build so far went extremely well and worked much better then I remember using polyester resin and fiberglass working on mold making for car parts).
If I can find a way to use aqua resin without warping the product I don't mind that it is slightly more expensive as the comfort of working on my project in a nicely heated room in my 2nd floor apartment is better then working in the downstairs common area outside where we have no electricity, poor lighting and lots of dust
I do have access to a small balcony but its less then ideal especially now that the average temparature in the evening (when I can do most) drops to around 10 degrees C.
Anyway, to be continued. It'll be awhile before I post progress updates on this because I want to make sure I have something to show
Ok, well if you think the aqua resin can work go for it, to me it seems as if you used too much and that saturated the paper too quickly, maybe try going slower and using a lot more coats. You could always try the wood glue method, that seems to work well, not as good as regular resin though, but it may be worth a shot since you are aiming for a indoor/hazardous chemical free build. When you re-pep the helmet I would use the JTM Mark V b from the file archive, it's more detailed, but just as hard IMO as the one you have done ( and I started with ), its really only more time consuming due to all the finicky little parts. It is also a smaller helmet width wise, so it may be better for your daughter so it doesn't look over sized. Good luck with the next steps of your build, hope it turns out really good!
Caught a nasty cold over the weekend, feeling dreadful, but managed to spend a few hours during the week pepping one of the shins of the suit and seeing if I could have a better result using aqua resin.
I only did some basic strengthening as the shape seems pretty rigid.
To see if I could get a better result with Aqua Resin I did a few things differently
1) I sprayed a thin layer of clear coat first. Hard to say how much difference (if any) this made
2) I made sure to stick to the recommend 2:1 ratio between powder and liquid mixing it properly
3) I only applied a thin layer of aqua resin on the outside before doing the fiberglassing on the inside
The end result seems much much better:
There is much less warping and its hold up pretty well this time. I can't say for sure what made the biggest difference. The only problems I ran into where that I went to far too fast with the fiber glassing as it gets heavy. I think the best way is to do one third of the inside, let it harden, do another third, then the last or find a better way to support the object as the weight start to deform whatever part the object is resting on. The other issue is with the small lip at the top and bottom which have no strength to them. I need to find a better way to keep those straight or strengthen them..
All in all, I'm pretty happy with the end result. Next step is smoothing the outside.
I only did some basic strengthening as the shape seems pretty rigid.
To see if I could get a better result with Aqua Resin I did a few things differently
1) I sprayed a thin layer of clear coat first. Hard to say how much difference (if any) this made
2) I made sure to stick to the recommend 2:1 ratio between powder and liquid mixing it properly
3) I only applied a thin layer of aqua resin on the outside before doing the fiberglassing on the inside
The end result seems much much better:
There is much less warping and its hold up pretty well this time. I can't say for sure what made the biggest difference. The only problems I ran into where that I went to far too fast with the fiber glassing as it gets heavy. I think the best way is to do one third of the inside, let it harden, do another third, then the last or find a better way to support the object as the weight start to deform whatever part the object is resting on. The other issue is with the small lip at the top and bottom which have no strength to them. I need to find a better way to keep those straight or strengthen them..
All in all, I'm pretty happy with the end result. Next step is smoothing the outside.
Hey mux213.
I've been following your build for a while now but only just created an account here on the 405th.
Your build is coming along great, mate, and I'm looking forward to seeing it progress. Obviously it's a shame about the helmet, but It's part of the learning process, right? And the knowledge is valuable I'm sure.
I should thank you, though. After months of lurking I think It's time I finally start a build of some sort that I've repeatedly been putting off. As you did, I reckon I'm going to start with a helmet, and if all goes well, possibly continue on to a full suit.
Regardless, I'm looking forward to seeing your build come together, and I hope all goes well from here.
Good luck matey.
I've been following your build for a while now but only just created an account here on the 405th.
Your build is coming along great, mate, and I'm looking forward to seeing it progress. Obviously it's a shame about the helmet, but It's part of the learning process, right? And the knowledge is valuable I'm sure.
I should thank you, though. After months of lurking I think It's time I finally start a build of some sort that I've repeatedly been putting off. As you did, I reckon I'm going to start with a helmet, and if all goes well, possibly continue on to a full suit.
Regardless, I'm looking forward to seeing your build come together, and I hope all goes well from here.
Good luck matey.
Cheers Raquisite,
I'm having great fun with it. I do recommend that you don't start with a helmet though. If it is the first thing you're doing you will make mistakes just like me and while as you say, it's part of the learning process, its kinda nice to make those mistakes on something you didn't just spend a whole week on
The main body of the shins took me a night to cut out and glue together, that is much less time and effort to waste if you make a mistake you can't recover from. Even if you're just making one to learn...
Then again, read up, watch videos, you can prevent many mistakes and get a result you're happy with the first time around.
I'm having great fun with it. I do recommend that you don't start with a helmet though. If it is the first thing you're doing you will make mistakes just like me and while as you say, it's part of the learning process, its kinda nice to make those mistakes on something you didn't just spend a whole week on
The main body of the shins took me a night to cut out and glue together, that is much less time and effort to waste if you make a mistake you can't recover from. Even if you're just making one to learn...
Then again, read up, watch videos, you can prevent many mistakes and get a result you're happy with the first time around.
Damn I'm having fun!!
I had been talking to the importer that sold me Aqua Resin and discussing with him what happened to my helmet build. He's come up with a number of interesting suggestions one of them being AquaCote which is a water based polyurathane resin that can be used indoors. I've only tried it on two small parts but considering I rushed things just to see if it worked well, this is before:
And after coating:
(PS can someone tell me if that little piece on the left that is supposed to go on the top of the shin should actually be attached to it?)
There is a little bit of wrinking but nothing too unexpected especially considering I was purposefully being careless. All in all I think this is a much better product to replace polyester resin with to do the initial strengthening. I'm much happier with the end result then after coating the outside in Aqua Resin which gives a much rougher finish. I'm going to build the second shin next week and try doing that with AquaCote for this stage so I can properly compare it.
That is not to say I don't like Aqua Resin, on the contrary I'm loving this product. For reinforcing fiberglass, as I mentioned up above, I think its a great product but also as a replacement for bondo I'm starting to see its merrits. By using a little more powder (and I really mean, just a little more then the recommended 2:1 ratio, maybe 2.2:1?) it start to thicken up. The importer recommended adding something like a bit of saw dust as a cheaper alternative then wasting more powder but I think I'll stick with powder. I've been playing around with the helmet a bit (I'll post pictures when I'm further along) and it works well.
But it made me experiment a little more. Another thing that came with the trial package was just a bag with loose fiberglass strands. A long long time ago I played around with a bondo that came premixed with loose fiberglass strands. I wondered if I could do the same with Aqua Resin, so I mixed a bit of powder and added a little bit of the fiber glass strands and mixed it.
FUUUUUUUN! This is not something you would want to use on the outside because its a pain to sand back, but I used it to reinforce the outside ledges of the shins. I need to clean it up once its all dried and its hard to take some proper pictures but I hope you can see the end result:
So its not just the bit at the back that I recreated (for some reason the design didn't extend the lip all the way around) but I've reinforced the inside of the entire lip. It's rock solid now.
This weekend I hope to find the time to start 'Bonding' the outside using a slightly thickened aqua resin mix and then its sanding. Hopefully before the weekend is out I'll have this stage of the shin finished and its ready to start getting some paint.
I had been talking to the importer that sold me Aqua Resin and discussing with him what happened to my helmet build. He's come up with a number of interesting suggestions one of them being AquaCote which is a water based polyurathane resin that can be used indoors. I've only tried it on two small parts but considering I rushed things just to see if it worked well, this is before:
And after coating:
(PS can someone tell me if that little piece on the left that is supposed to go on the top of the shin should actually be attached to it?)
There is a little bit of wrinking but nothing too unexpected especially considering I was purposefully being careless. All in all I think this is a much better product to replace polyester resin with to do the initial strengthening. I'm much happier with the end result then after coating the outside in Aqua Resin which gives a much rougher finish. I'm going to build the second shin next week and try doing that with AquaCote for this stage so I can properly compare it.
That is not to say I don't like Aqua Resin, on the contrary I'm loving this product. For reinforcing fiberglass, as I mentioned up above, I think its a great product but also as a replacement for bondo I'm starting to see its merrits. By using a little more powder (and I really mean, just a little more then the recommended 2:1 ratio, maybe 2.2:1?) it start to thicken up. The importer recommended adding something like a bit of saw dust as a cheaper alternative then wasting more powder but I think I'll stick with powder. I've been playing around with the helmet a bit (I'll post pictures when I'm further along) and it works well.
But it made me experiment a little more. Another thing that came with the trial package was just a bag with loose fiberglass strands. A long long time ago I played around with a bondo that came premixed with loose fiberglass strands. I wondered if I could do the same with Aqua Resin, so I mixed a bit of powder and added a little bit of the fiber glass strands and mixed it.
FUUUUUUUN! This is not something you would want to use on the outside because its a pain to sand back, but I used it to reinforce the outside ledges of the shins. I need to clean it up once its all dried and its hard to take some proper pictures but I hope you can see the end result:
So its not just the bit at the back that I recreated (for some reason the design didn't extend the lip all the way around) but I've reinforced the inside of the entire lip. It's rock solid now.
This weekend I hope to find the time to start 'Bonding' the outside using a slightly thickened aqua resin mix and then its sanding. Hopefully before the weekend is out I'll have this stage of the shin finished and its ready to start getting some paint.
Cheers Raquisite,
I'm having great fun with it. I do recommend that you don't start with a helmet though. If it is the first thing you're doing you will make mistakes just like me and while as you say, it's part of the learning process, its kinda nice to make those mistakes on something you didn't just spend a whole week on
The main body of the shins took me a night to cut out and glue together, that is much less time and effort to waste if you make a mistake you can't recover from. Even if you're just making one to learn...
Then again, read up, watch videos, you can prevent many mistakes and get a result you're happy with the first time around.
Yeah I do think that'd be best, thanks. Though in my burst of enthusiasm I decided to print the helmet, so I'll also print another piece of armour and work on that first, and take what I learn from that and apply it to my helmet when ready. So thank you for that.
Those shins and knees are looking great pal, so well done
In regard to your question, though. I'd have thought the piece on the right attaches to the main shin part, and the piece on the left is a form of knee pad, so it'd be supported on it's own by straps. I don't 100% know, though, so hopefully you can get confirmation from somebody else, but that's definitely my initial thought upon viewing the knee and shin area.
Hey Raquisite,
Paper is cheap and you can always start cutting out and gluing the helmet together while you wait on resin to dry on your other piece It is by no way wasteful work
Paper is cheap and you can always start cutting out and gluing the helmet together while you wait on resin to dry on your other piece
It is by no way wasteful workThats what I'm thinking, just looking for someone who's build this before to confirm and maybe give some pointers how to best put them togetherIn regard to your question, though. I'd have thought the piece on the right attaches to the main shin part, and the piece on the left is a form of knee pad, so it'd be supported on it's own by straps. I don't 100% know, though, so hopefully you can get confirmation from somebody else, but that's definitely my initial thought upon viewing the knee and shin area.
- Status
